As night falls, the oil lamps are dappled.

The courtyard wall surrounded by earth blocks is dilapidated, and the word "happiness" on the wooden door is still bright.

A few dim rays of light leaked through the crack in the door of the main room, and a small female voice came from inside.

"Sister-in-law, when you first sold embroidery, you said that one person and a half, and the family's expenses were so little, how could there be no money left to sell embroidery?"

Ling Xiu'er, who was delicate and petite, frowned and looked at the woman who was called her sister-in-law a little timidly.

This year's crop harvest is not good, but Fujun will go to Beijing to take the exam after the autumn, and she needs to be entangled, otherwise she will not open this mouth to her sister-in-law.

Ling Xiu'er married into this family three months ago. She is the adopted daughter of a butcher at the entrance of the village, and she has to work without food or drink at the butcher's house, and she still wears summer clothes in the wax moon. So marrying into the Cao family, she was very content. Moreover, her husband Cao Yu is still the only tribute student in the village.

Sister-in-law Li Shi stopped the pu fan in her hand, and by the faint light of the oil lamp, a pair of hanging triangular eyes glanced at Ling Xiu'er reproachfully, her thin eyebrows were raised, and her words revealed a sharp sourness.

"Brother and sister, what are you talking about, could it be that I have treated you harshly as an elder?"

Ling Xiu'er was speechless for a while, she was an honest person. But after grinding his mouth here for a long time, he didn't see Li pay a penny. She can wait, but her future can't wait.

So he had the courage to speak again, "Sister-in-law, I don't want much, ten taels of silver, no, is there eight taels of silver?" ”

"What?"

When Li Shi heard this, he almost broke the handle of the pu fan in his hand.

Ling Xiuer's embroidery did sell for some money, and it can be said that it is more than enough to supplement the family. But for the rest, except for some private money, she left all the rest to supplement her mother's family. It is more difficult to ask for money from her Li clan than to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.

"Xiu'er, it's not that my sister-in-law cares about money, you see the second brother, he has already entered Beijing and tried twice, but as a result, he didn't even enter the examination room! Isn't this a waste of money? ”

The Li family had completely forgotten that this was the money earned by Ling Xiu'er, and took out the momentum of being the housewife, with arrogance in her words.

"I see, the second brother runs a school in the village, and it is also a pen entry after a year, and people who can't get married still rely on their families to support them."

Ling Xiu'er listened, twisted the handkerchief in her hand, her little face flushed, and her watery eyes were full of anger and remorse.

She should have thought of her sister-in-law Li in front of her and behind her back. I'm also stupid, but I believe her nonsense! The embroidery day and night wanted to change the plate and let the prince catch up with the exam, but the bamboo basket was empty!

"Sister-in-law, we agreed before......"

Without waiting for Ling Xiu'er to finish speaking, Li immediately grabbed Bai, and the harsh voice overshadowed Ling Xiu'er's words, and counted loudly, "The second child doesn't spend money on studying, and it doesn't cost money to eat and drink all day on weekdays?" That bit of embroidery is a piece of fairy embroidery, can it be exchanged for a big ingot? Ling Xiu'er, don't forget, I bought you for half a pig! ”

Lee was right.

Cao Yu failed the exam twice, her mother Wang was anxious, and Cao Yu was not young, so she wanted to marry a new daughter-in-law. And the younger brother of the Li family is the fast catcher of the county government, and the already domineering Li stopped this family affair and bought Ling Xiu'er with half a sick pig to manage the village head butcher.

As a result, the Li family also sat firmly in the position of the Cao family's housemother.

But in the final analysis, the embroidery is also embroidered by Ling Xiuer. Why is it that now in the mouth of the Li family, he has become a person who sits back and enjoys his success and does not do things?

Ling Xiu'er bit her lip and said patiently: "Sister-in-law, Ah Yu went to study, when did he delay the crop work?" No matter how bad my embroidery is, the money in exchange for the whole family to eat and drink is not worried. I respect you as your sister-in-law, I don't want to go to Beijing to catch the exam, my sister-in-law sent me embroidery back at noon, and I took it to sell it myself! ”

When Li Shi heard this, his face suddenly stiffened. How good Ling Xiu'er's embroidery is, she doesn't know, how can she, who is a sister-in-law, not know?!

It is no exaggeration to say that now all the cloth villages in the county are waiting for her to send embroidery. The boss of those cloth houses has a higher price for these embroideries, otherwise how can she have money to supplement her mother's family while supporting this big family.

"You think this embroidery is so good to sell? I'm afraid that when the time comes, you will cry and beg others, but no one wants them! Li said as he spoke, but he put the embroidery into the box next to him.

Ling Xiu'er didn't know where to give birth to the courage at this moment, so she strode over to grab the embroidery.

In the years since the Li family married into the Cao family, no one dared to snatch anything from her, and her face was blue at the moment, and she wanted to shake off Ling Xiu'er's hand.

"Ling Xiu'er, are you turning against the sky?"

As he spoke, he didn't take the embroidery hand and hit Ling Xiu'er.

"Shhhh

With a crisp sound of fabric, Ling Xiu'er swollen half of her face, sat on the ground with her buttocks, and there was obvious pain in her palms, but she didn't care about the wounds in her palms, and hurriedly picked up the embroidery to check.

The good embroidery was halved, the thread collapsed, and the blood from the wound dyed the peony bright red.

Seeing this, Li threw the other half of the embroidery on the ground, stared at Ling Xiu'er arrogantly, and snorted coldly.

"Heh, I'll give you back this, don't say I robbed you. You can go to the county town and sell it, and I'll see what sky-high price you can sell. I won't give any money to this plate, you can make it up yourself. After speaking, he closed the door with a "bang" and shut Ling Xiu'er outside.

Ling Xiu'er carefully gathered the embroidery and took it back to the house with her clothes, lest her injured hand stain the embroidery. This is a treasure for the husband to change the coil.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw the figure of the desk bowing his head and putting down the pen.

The man was dressed in a white robe that set off his slender figure very well, because he was about to go to bed at night, his green hair was not combed, and he was hastily tied behind him.

Although the face is cold, the temperament is dusty. Hearing the movement of opening the door, he raised his head and looked at Ling Xiu'er, and looked at Ling Xiu'er with a pair of eyes gently.

Cao Yu saw that half of her face was swollen, her hands were still red, her sword eyebrows were raised, and she said solemnly: "What's wrong?" ”

Ling Xiu'er lowered her head, her nose was sore, and her tears couldn't stop flowing.

Cao Yu gently wiped away the tears on Ling Xiu'er's face, looked at Ling Xiu'er's fleshy palms and embroidery, and immediately understood everything.

He said in a low voice: "It's the husband who is incompetent, and the dignified man still needs a woman to support him." You don't have to worry about the entanglement, I will go back to the county to study tomorrow, I have my own way. ”

After that, Cao Yu bandaged Ling Xiu'er's wound distressedly, and her movements were cautious.

When Ling Xiu'er heard him say this, her heart couldn't help but be hot, "I am your wife, you are my husband, how can I not care about your business?" ”

Besides, what can Cao Yu do as a poor scholar?

Ling Xiu'er already had a plan in her heart, she still had some unfinished semi-finished products left, so she simply stayed up all night to embroider them, and asked Cao Yuming'er to ask the price when she went to the county school, so that she could sell them for some money. For the rest, I'll figure it out.

Thinking like this, her eyes suddenly swept to the torn handkerchief, the red peony petals were plump, and the pavilion stood on the waste handkerchief.

A waste embroidery turned into a real embroidered peony.

The previously soiled part seems to have absorbed the blood and become the reddest and most delicate part of the stamen.